Written By Catherine Schmuck
Good morning from the Atlantic Huron. I started writing to you yesterday morning from my desk in my cabin. I was looking out my window and saw the same view as the day before. We are still at the salt dock loading salt for Chicago. It's a great location. We were just below the new Gordie Howe Bridge, and you usually see lots of ship traffic, but it was very quiet. I sat out at every opportunity before I started my day (with coffee in hand), after lunch (in the sun on the starboard side), and after supper clean up (on the port side watching the setting sun. Each view was beautiful. All the crew are happier with the lower temperatures. The weather has been perfect, and I am so happy that I could take advantage of it. When I went out to get my coffee a mere 24 hours ago, I said good morning to the 2nd cook as usual and asked if he had heard when we were leaving, but he hadn't heard anything. I knew that when we let the wires go at the salt dock, we will make another stop before sailing/waving by the Blue Water Bridge. We were scheduled to stop for fuel in Sarnia. Stopping for fuel can take 3 hours, but it depends if they "fill er up". Since I wrote to you last I have been taking some extra me time. Sitting outside on the deck and one evening indulging in watching some YouTube videos (I only have 40GB for the 30 days here, and I don't want to run out, so it was a one-night splurge.) The last six months were very busy for me. Finishing and editing the book left no extra time for these simple luxuries. Just sitting out on deck. As I sat on deck I thought, shouldn't I be doing something? No. I should just be sitting enjoying the view. Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) called the day before. She went over to the Ogdensburg NY post office to pick up the mailers and labels for the new book and calendars. She orders them in advance because she needs so many. In the US, we can pick up the mailers/labels and only pay the postage when we return them to be mailed. Lorraine arrives with them perfectly packed and sealed (expertly, she makes sure that no water can creep into the box if the books are being delivered in the rain or snow). In Canada we have to purchase the mailers in advance. We get many comments about the cost of shipping in Canada. The high cost does not reflect the speed at which it was delivered either. We wish we could deliver them in person. I remember how much fun it was to call people from their driveway and say, "We are here with your book." We are still happy that we can meet people at the meet and greets and book signings. Lorraine sent me the list yesterday, and I will post it on the calendar on the website and share it with you in the next couple of days.
I had hoped to wave at the Blue Water Bridge yesterday but as each hour ticked by I thought it might not work out. I calculated approximately 9 hours from when we would leave the salt dock (including the time we fuel; however, I don't know how much fuel we are taking, so this time is just an estimate. I wrote a page in the new book to share a few details and photos about fueling the ship. How much do we take on, how much does it cost, and what are the different ways we get fuel? ). When the Captain came in for lunch I knew we were not leaving until after lunch and the Blue Water Bridge would be while I was asleep. For lunch I had yellow split pea soup. A crispy highliner fish sandwich on homemade buns or baked Haddock, on the sandwich or with rice Second choice was corned beef hash with poached eggs. My third choice was a fried egg sandwich and when I asked one crew member if he wanted it on a homemade bun he responded “Do you even have to ask?” The timing was good to wave at the Marine City Webcam and I went out to give a big cheerleader wave. One of the new crew members questioned who I was waving at, and when I explained, he joined enthusiastically. Thank you Gen for sharing the video clip. After waving I went back into the galley to clean up after my spaghetti dinner which I served with garlic buns and roasted zucchini. The second choice was rainbow trout with my famous chimichurri sauce.
Last I wrote to you we were making our way up the seaway after unloading in Quebec City. We approached Eisenhower right before lunch and I quickly went out to wave. I can't wait to see the new Observation/Visitor Centre. I ran back in to start serving lunch. It was cinnamon bun Sunday and I had lots to do. I decided to make eggs Benedict. I knew a couple would not order the eggs Benedict and made a ham and Swiss cheese pocket. (I was excited to find a large block of Swiss cheese in the fridge and grated it so it would melt nicely in the pocket. I also folded the pockets differently. I used to fold them into squares, but I saw something online and decided to try it out. I made one slice into the Tortilla shell and folded it into a triangle. ( I think I will have to make a little video to share with you. It was much better folded that way and delicious.) A couple of crew members asked me what they should have, and I suggested the triangle ham and Swiss cheese pocket with the poached eggs and homemade hollandaise on top. It looked so good, and they said it tasted good, too. My hollandaise looked different made with grainy Dijon, but it tasted great!
I went out to wave at Iroquois Lock during my afternoon break. Iroquois holds so many special memories for me. I stepped out a few times to wave. I have to be more specific when I put out into the universe that I would like to pass Brockville during the daylight hours. I have to add, not during meal hours. I saw Brockville just through the porthole as I was fixing a plate for one of the hungry crew in line. I served my mom's beef goulash (beef and gravy) over noodles. The second choice was sweet potato, chickpea spinach curry. When I heard the previous day who was coming to pilot and train the 1st mate as we made our way through the 1000 islands, I knew I had to make this because it is one of this pilot's favorites. I also made Dahl soup. I was so delighted when one crew member asked about the Dahl soup. I explained it was a little like pea soup. He hesitantly said, ok, I'll try it. I appreciate it when a crew member will go out of their comfort zone and try something new. I am thrilled when they come back and say it was good.
Supper was over and my dishes were done as we were coming up to the 1000 Island bridge. I decided the floor could wait half an hour and went out on deck to enjoy the view. I can wash the floor when we clear the bridge. I had received a message from someone to come out and wave. The message came with a photo of the house to make it easy to spot and wave; however, I was on the starboard side, and the house was on the port side. I had a 50/50 chance. I heard my name called out from a pontoon boat. The ladies looked like they were having a great time. I waved and they were close enough to shout a hello. It was late when we passed Wolfe Island and I enjoyed hearing about the sparklers that our friends lit so that I could see them wave.
The following morning we entered the Welland Canal. We waited for a Salty to exit lock one, and after that, it was a fairly quick trip. I treated myself to lunch at the picnic table. It was a very hot day, but there was shade on the portside picnic table, and we were in the flight locks. It was fun to watch the ship coming down. For lunch I made chicken fingers. I made my Crispy Chicken Tropical Salad with the mango black bean salsa and maple mustard vinaigrette. It was popular with the majority of the crew. It's a guilt-free way to eat chicken fingers with a salad. The second choice was baked Haddock with the mango black bean salsa. I sat at the picnic table all afternoon and enjoyed myself immensely. It was almost like being a cruise ship, a cruise ship where you have to cook your own meals. That's not a problem. I love to cook. By the time we got to Lock 7 it was pouring rain again. We have had a lot of rain. It is always fun to go through the canal and I especially enjoyed my picnic lunch. For supper, I made smoked meat with cabbage, turnips, carrots, and potatoes. My soup was beef barley. I knew we were stopping above Lock 8 to take on stores and drifted off to sleep hearing them bringing all the boxes in and storing them in the hallway by my room. Tuesday was a blustery day and a little bouncy onboard. Lake Erie can prove that she is mighty too.
I will share some of the other meals I made since we last spoke. Last Saturday I made pizza. I asked one crew member if I could take a picture of his plate and he offered to take the photo of me holding his lunch. I served the pizza with a spinach salad with the maple mustard dressing. On Monday, there were a couple of crew members changing and some crew going ashore. It was a holiday Monday, so it was not a regular work day for some. When possible, holidays are treated special, and since we were just going through the canal, there was a more relaxed feel on board. I started my day Tuesday with carrot ginger soup. I made a huge pot, which was finished by the end of the day. For lunch, I made steak and broccoli stir fry. The second choice was a Greek-inspired frittata. It went really well. It's the first time that I have laid roasted eggplant on top, and I will do that again. The third choice was a ham sandwich, which one crew member thoroughly enjoyed. He said he loves to have just soup and a sandwich for lunch. For supper, I made pork chops with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes. The second choice was salmon patties with spicy mayonnaise and rice. The salmon patties got rave reviews and when they said how good they were, I jokingly responded, the recipe is in the first book.
Wednesday I started my day making a huge pot of homemade tomato soup. I forgot to put this delicious recipe in the new book so I will share it with you in the next couple of days. The crew loved this recipe, which went well with the grilled cheese I put on the menu. I also made pork chop suey to use the leftover pork chops from the previous night. My third choice was a cheddar Broccoli frittata. Wednesday was wing night. I started surveying the crew a few days ago to see whether they liked their wings fried or baked. It was 60/40 baked winning out. I defrosted 360 wings and baked/fried all of them. At the end of the meal, there were only a few left. I served them with French fries and I made a second choice of Asian eggplant with rice. The Asian eggplant is in the next book, and one crew member who said he doesn't like eggplant but would try mine because he may like the way I prepare eggplant commented that he did enjoy the eggplant in the gingery sauce. On the ship, I use soya sauce, but at home, I use coconut aminos. It really is delicious. I made my Cathy's hot sauce to go with the wings, and some tried their wings with the Asian sauce, which turned out to be a delicious option.
I just glanced down at the bottom right-hand corner of my screen and gasped; how is it possible that it's already 08h19, The time is going too fast. We are on Lake Huron enroute to Chicago. I hope you have a wonderful day. Talk to you soon.
Catherine Schmuck
